


the stars above us

by starrysteel



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Anxiety, Best Friends, Depression, M/M, Music, Shounen-ai, Slow Burn, Songfic, Yaoi, Yaoi on Ice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 19:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11584986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrysteel/pseuds/starrysteel
Summary: He's a 23 year old singer songwriter by the name of Katsu. Anxiety ridden yet passionate, Yuuri Katsuki is a man with a troubled past and even more troubling future. How could he ever be as amazing as his idol- the superstar Viktor Nikiforov when he can't even play a live show without wanting to vomit? Ugh being an artist is hard..At 27 years, he's still going strong. A successful line of albums, enough money to comfortably retire at 30, a fanbase of millions- Viktor Nikiforov had it all, right? He likes to think so. What more could he ever wish for? He must be the most selfish man in the world to want even more. A fellow artist at that...but these two share more than just a stage.





	1. Aria Stammi Vicino

**Author's Note:**

> So this right here is a fic I didn't think I'd be writing. I had a hard time leaving my 2k word synopsis of this plot and actually writing it out, so here you go. I'm going to (try) make this more or less a song fic. Click the links to get the full experience!
> 
> Warning: a lot of drama and dramatic characters :)))))
> 
> Please leave kudos if you'd like me to continue;; I have the entire story planned out so I don't want it to go to waste :( anyways enjoy!

The lights flashed on the stage, an intricate pattern of blues, whites and purples. The crowds throughout the stadium were screaming as the final song on the setlist began to play over the speakers.

"He's just so amazing, oh my god!"

"Ahhhhh te quiero!!!"

"Je t'aime Viktor!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"

[Stepping out](https://soundcloud.com/user-985807580/aria-stammi-vicino-non-te-ne-andare) onto the stage again in a shimmery pink, purple and black ensemble, Viktor took a deep breath before singing into the microphone.

_Sento una voce che piange lotano_

_Anche tu sei stato forse abbandonato_

What had been screaming girls and lights too bright on his face was now only static in front of him. It was like the time he was 8 before the power went out for three days. He had been watching a rerun of Nu, pogodi!, his favorite Russian cartoon, before the colors of the characters adversely dissolved into lines of static across the screen. Viktor was stunned and he watched the movement of the lines across the screen like his stare would change the channel back to his favorite cartoon friends.

_Con una spada vorrei tagliare_

_Quelle gole che cantano d'amore_

_Vorrei serrar nel gelo le mani_

_Che esprimono quei versi d'ardente passione_

His life was much like a tv show. Even as he wrote songs, sang them and got paid loads for his name to be under any logo, Viktor was much like the helpless child watching the screen.

_Questa storia che senso non ha_

_Svanirà questa notte assieme alle stelle_

Even the sad ballad he sung would go unheard of by most of his fans. Their empathy and sadness would not be for him but for themselves- they would relate to his words and feel pity for their own hearts. His call for help would go unnoticed as they would all look away.

_Dalla speranza nascera_

_L'eternita_

So much for wanting to share all of himself. All of his thoughts and feelings. Wanting to connect with someone. To feel something again. It was like a never ending cycle of wondering, when will they become tired of me?

_Stammi vicino_

_Non te ne andare_

_Ho paura di perderti_

No.

_Le tue mani, le tue gambe_

_Le mie mani, le mie gambe_

_I battiti del cuore_

No not again.

_Si fondono tra loro_

I don't want them to get tired of me! I don't want to have lost everything I have for nothing! I don't want to have done nothing for him, been nothing for him and leave him disappointed! This pain in my chest isn't going away and my fear of fading away and being nothing is paralyzing, I don't feel like singing, please stop!

I can't breathe, I can't breathe. It feels like I'm drowning in water. This is suffocating me, please, help me. The music keeps playing but I'm all worn out. How can I continue when I have nothing left to give? What more do I have when I've given you everything? What will finally make you see me and see how hard this is?

_Partiamo insieme_

_Ora sono pronto_

_No!_

_дерьмо!_

_No, damn it!_

The final drums rang out like an improper pattern in Viktor's heart. Although the crowd was screaming with adoration, his head was full of rejection.

Viktor stepped off the stage before the fans could notice the tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. Now _that_ wouldn't help his image.

Backstage was a flurry of crew dismantling the lights and set pieces, many looking awestruck to see such a big star in their presence. It disheartened Viktor how quickly he had seemed to pay no mind. He knew he was popular, a celebrity always in those top 10 lists of every entertainment magazine. He'd always been popular. Always at the forefront of the public. But it didn't bother him, it didn't. How could it when he'd not known of anything different?

 

´¨)  
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)  
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *  
(¸.·\the stars above us*´¨)  
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *

 

Yuuri checked his phone for the twentieth time in hopes that his best friend had texted back. Waiting at an inconspicuous cafe with an obnoxious hat covering his hair still made him nervous even though it was unlikely he would attract much attention. 

"But Yuuri-kun your glasses are too boring anyway. Nobody will actually think that you are  _the_  Katsu." Whipping his head around, Phichit laughed when he saw Yuuri's glasses slipping off his face. 

"Phichit! Don't say it so loud!"

"Mmhm okay Yuuri-kun." He was still giggling as he circled the table. Sighing, Yuuri slouched further into his chair hoping that nobody had seen the two's banter. 

"So whatchu order?" Sitting in the chair across from him, Phichit took out the specials menu from the table stand, running his eyes down the laminated list that was stained with more than a few coffee stains. "It's not like you order anything different." Phichit smirked and put the menu back. 

"Aw, you know me so well Yuuri." He smiled at his best friend before the waitress made it to their table. 

"Phichit."

"Mari."

"Same as usual?"

"Would I get anything different?"

"Don't answer a question with a question." 

"Yuuri does it all the time though, right Yuuri?" Phichit looked to Yuuri who sat playing with his watch. "Well..er...I mean-"

Before he could reply Mari replied to Phichit, ignoring Yuuri's awkward fidgeting. "He does, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he does!" Phichit initially failed to notice the way Mari didn't spare her younger brother a glance and instead strut off without taking his order. 

"What's up with her? Did I say something?"

"Phichit..." dropping his head in his hands, Yuuri shook with disappointment as he looked back up at Phichit. 

"She's giving me the silent treatment."

Phichit feigned a look of shock. "What, why?"

"Because apparently I didn't make enough bacon for her this morning."

"What? No way!" Phichit tried to hold back his laughter as Yuuri shook his head again.

"Yuuup. She got so mad about it too, like that time when I accidentally used her toothbrush."

"Really? Wow Yuuri-kun, I just-I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything because what he did was so disgusting, I had to get a whole new set of toothbrushes that were so neon pink they could burn your eyes off." Mari set down two mugs of coffee before huffing and storming back into the kitchen. 

"Yikes", Phichit whistled. "Didn't see _that_  coming."

"Must be her time of the month."

"Must be."

Both boys took sips of their coffee at the same time, sharing a knowing look.

"Hey so did you see that video last night?"

Yuuri pondered for a moment before he lit up with recognition. "The one about Viktor's concert in Paris last night?" 

"Mmhm. What did you think?"

He thought for a minute. What  _did_ he think? Yuuri hadn't expected such a video to exist, much less from the one and only Viktor Nikiforov. 

It was when he had been performing Stammi Vicino at the end of his show. It was surprising how quickly his demeanor had changed from the fun and charismatic prince to the cold and heartbroken lover. Yuuri had been shocked to see his eyes lose their life- he seemed robotic and with almost no feeling to his words. Then as he continued it was like the lyrics were finally making sense to him. Yuuri had watched as his idol nearly broke down into tears, his passion overflowing with something that seemed so  _real_. So  _familiar_. He thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed. 

"I thought it was sad. He seemed really heartbroken like it was something more than a lover."

"Really? That's interesting, he just seemed too into it to be honest."

"Phichit!"

"What?"

"Don't be insensitive!" Yuuri whisper shouted when he realized that a couple a few tables down had looked over. 

"Yuuri-kun I'm sorry to say this but every celebrity is scrutinized. He's big enough now to not take it to heart."

"It doesn't matter. A person is a person, you shouldn't say mean things like that." he slouched further into his chair with a pout on his face.

"A person is a person huh? You wanna know what I think?" Phichit leaned closer while Yuuri continued to fiddle with his coffee mug. 

"What?" 

"I think your'e just _in lovvvve_ with Nikiforov."

"What?! No! Shut up!"

"Ah Yuuri, always so obvious."

"You known I'm not in love with him, I'm just a fan."

Phichit sighed and pat his best friend's hand. "I know I know but honestly I don't think you'd make a bad couple."

"Pft as if. Now you're just teasing me." he said rolling his eyes.

"But I always tease you Yuuri-kun!"

Phichit blinked as his phone began to buzz, his Madonna ringtone making more than a few customers turn their way in annoyance. 

"Phichit!"

"Sorry, sorry I'll be right back!"

Yuuri got a glimpse of the caller ID and smirked when he saw the name. Phichit blushed but didn't do much to cover it up as he walked out the front door. 

Rolling his eyes, Yuuri gathered his things and hoisted his bag onto his shoulders.  _Gah, as always Phichit is so obvious._ Walking into the kitchen Yuuri greeted his hardworking parents and his sister, even if she scoffed at his presence, before leaving On the Rocks Cafe while composing a text to Phichit. 

_sorry, had to go. let me know about him next time we meet ;-)_

He also sent a text to his driver/bodyguard, asking for a ride back home. 

_ciao! could you give me a ride home in 1 hour?_

Celestino responded immediately with a confirmation, reassuring Yuuri before he made his way into the music studio across the street. Yuuri had been playing music since he was able to pick up an instrument. It had been just as big a part of him as singing had. Both were passions that came early on, as is why early on he knew what he wanted to do in life.

"Yuuko?."

The girl in a well ironed shirt beamed at her childhood friend and bounded over to give him a hug. "Hi Yuuri! Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Says you. I've been in town for months and you've been out for what? Two years?"

"A year and a half actually, Lilia was  _killing_  me with her training regime."

"Really?" Yuuri laughed along with his old friend as they continued to reminisce. 

"Yuuko! Watashi no ai!" Yuuko turned around as Yuuri saw the man walking out from the hallway toward the studios. 

"Takeshi?"

"Yuuri?" The two men embraced as Yuuko rambled on about her recent marriage and how ironic it was with all three of them together again. 

"Not a piggy anymore, are you?" , Takeshi teased in their native tongue. 

"Haha, yeah I guess.."

"Remember Yuuko?," he nudged her, "He was so fat, we had to drag him to lessons after lunch!" The three shared a few laughs despite Yuuri feeling embarrassed more than half the time. He really  _was_  the comic relief of their trio, huh?

The newlywed couple shared their story about traveling the world together, learning to ice skate and Takeshi continually supporting his girlfriend with her passion for dance. That is when they had found a renowned prima ballerina- Lilia Baranovskaya, who had agreed to train Yuuko for a year. After all the work and doing well in major competitions, Yuuko had reached a pretty high level herself. Takeshi had been practicing to become a composer, one that was already invited to create soundtracks for some major films. 

Yuuri felt guilty for missing out on their achievements and even more so for not keeping contact.

"So Yuuri, what brings you here?"

"Oh, well it's been awhile and I was beginning to feel homesick. I've been worried about my family too, you know, after the foreclosure." Yuuko and Takeshi nodded in understanding before Yuuri could elaborate. 

Instead, he told them about his growing career as a singer songwriter, covers turning into original songs and youtube videos becoming music labels. It still was all too much to handle to be honest. Everything had happened so fast and now it was like a dream come true, yet it wasn't like anything he expected.

"I'm so proud of you! I knew you'd come far!"

"I agree, I mean Yuuri was always the one in the studio after everyone had gone home."

"I can lament on that!" Yuuri turned to see his former music and dance teacher, now current manager Minako approaching the small group. 

"He would stay even after I locked the doors! This kid, really..." Minako chuckled and pulled her student under her arm. The other two laughed and continued to joke about Yuuri's determination. Was he really that funny to them?

"Well of course! You were such a fun kid to be around!" Whoops, he'd said that out loud. 

"I might have been mean back then," Takeshi began,"but I still was envious of your passion."

"Oh, um, Thanks?"

"Don't be bashful Yuuri! Everyone admires you! Not many are like that nowadays. "Remaining embarrassed, Yuuri smiled at his caring friends and their attempts at praising his achievements. 

"Yikes! Honey!" Yuuko turned to her husband and mentioned something about a meeting with the trainer before they said hurried goodbyes to Yuuri and Minako. "We'll catch you later! Let's have lunch sometime!"

"Sounds good you lovebirds!" Minako laughed and looked back to Yuuri. 

"So, you ready to do some work?"

Taking a deep breath, Yuuri looked at Minako and smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be."


	2. The Ice and The Skater

_3 months later_

Yuuri sat on his bedroom balcony with the breeze flowing through his dark brown locks.  The wind wasn't too cold but the changing of seasons was beginning to trouble his sinuses. Yuuri had never been strong when it came to allergies- they would just show up unwelcome right before a big event or a part of the year sectioned off for writing and recording. Now he was stuck in the latter. Mari had recommended he stay inside and protect himself from getting an unlikely cold but Yuuri wasn't about to leave his favorite place in the house. 

After his big break now only a year ago, he had signed with an up and coming record label. The management did their best to situate him in the harsh world of professional music and with it came big opportunities. The money that came with it was anything but cheap. With it, Yuuri had seen an opportunity to give his family a second chance after the closure of the onsen nearly 8 years ago. His parents had been devastated and his sister crushed, although she had tried to remain the stronger of the two siblings. This is when they up and moved to America leaving everything they knew behind. It took awhile to get comfortable again but opening On the Rocks proved fruitful and the family owned coffee shop quickly gained traction in the bustling city of Detroit. It was here that Yuuri found Minako's Music and Dance Studio where he was able to find happiness again. Meeting Yuuko and Takeshi brought so much joy to what had felt like the loneliest moments of his life. It was an utter blessing in disguise and Yuuri was so thankful for the support even after his career took off.

He bought the house for his family a few months ago- it was a fairly big property and the furnishings were almost too good to be true. When he gave his parents the sale agreement for Christmas, Hiroko had burst into tears as Toshiya had been baffled in shock. Mari was just thankful for having her own bedroom again. But what concerned Yuuri the most now was his most recent claim to fame and how much harder his life would be from now on.

His phone buzzed again as he got another message from Phichit. His best friend was adamant about sending Yuuri updates surrounding his fame. Whether it was news articles, tweets about him, interviews or celebrities mentioning his name, Phichit found the need to share it all to his unsocial best friend. 

 

**https://RealGuangHongJi/twitter.com/status/889482349823240536**

**open link**

**The Ice and the Skater !** 通过 胜 **我最喜欢的歌  听着 @leodelaiglesia**

**Translate from Chinese: The Ice and The Skater** **! new favorite song by Katsu! listening with @leodelaiglesia**

 

It was the best selling single off his most recent album- titled Haetsu. Nothing too flashy but full of feel-good nostalgic tunes that had to Yuuri's surprise topped the charts. He had received a lot of praise for the album, many of the critics had found his style and appeal 'unique' and 'fresh'. Katsu was a promising new artist in the world of not-so-new singer songwriters. 

Yuuri scoffed as Phichit continued to send him links from Twitter and Instagram. It's not that he didn't appreciate the support, Yuuri just didn't see the need for all the hype about yet another dime a dozen artist. He felt almost guilty when a fan would idealize Yuuri's life like it was a work of perfection. It wasn't, at least in his mind, and he always felt the need to switch the attention to another up and comer. Even if he was made fun of during his interviews for "being too selfless for attention". 

The link that followed was one that Yuuri didn't expect. A sudden gust of wind blew his hair in multitudes of directions and the sound of wind chimes floated through the approaching evening air as he opened the tab.

 

**https://www.buzzfeed.com/briannaholt/lollapalooza-set-list-announced?-acts-including-big-timer-viktor-nikiforov**

 

Yuuri pressed the green call button without hesitation. "Viktor is playing at Lollapalooza?!"

"Yess, omg Yuuri we have to go!" Yuuri knew he was breathing fast, he knew he sounded like a child who had just run his first relay race, but he also knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

"How far is Chicago again?" He could spend a  _little_  of his recording time at a music festival. No biggie taking a small break, right?

"I got you dude, booked a hotel just now. What do you say about a little road trip?"

"Phichit...are..are you serious?" Yuuri was shocked his best friend would act so quickly, but should he really be surprised?

"Couldn't be more serious. Cmon, we have to go! You haven't had a chance like this to see your idol!"

Phichit was right. You would think with Yuuri's growing popularity that seeing his favorite artist wouldn't be a big deal. But Katsu was a humble artist and Yuuri even more so- he couldn't imagine ever using his privilege as a C list celebrity to cheat his way into the crowd. 

That's another thing. Yuuri hates crowds. As much as he'd had to be in one or near one especially while attending a concert, he still detested the idea of setting foot into a stadium full of screaming fans. Shoving to get to the front in the mosh pit, trampling each other to get a better view of the star himself. Even the stands were fair game. Although fans were situated meters away from the stage, they would still seek out all and any empty seats closer than their own spot whether it was because of a no show or simply someone going to the bathroom. You'd had better stay in your seat if you didn't want it stolen.

These were a large portion of Viktor's fans- abrasive and conceited. Yuuri didn't blame him of course, but he knew that the image of Viktor Nikiforov had changed- corrupted- as he had gained popularity. Yuuri knew as he had been a fan since the singer had started out. A 19 year old boy with an ambiguous aura, stunning the crowd with his flowing platinum hair and range of octaves. His high voice was signature to to his name, such a sweet and melancholy tone. He had reminded Yuuri of a very important person from his past- someone he didn't want to forget. 

Phichit texted Yuuri the details about their trip for the next few weeks. Both boys were beyond excited, having little experience traveling for leisure made this road trip seem all the more glamorous. Yuuri had told his family who seemed excited for his endeavor to a new city with his best friend. He _was_ excited to explore Chicago with his best friend. Detroit was amazing, but sometimes Yuuri just wanted a change. 

"Are you sure you're okay leaving for the weekend? Weren't you supposed to be memorizing?" Yuuri shared a concerned look with Phichit as they packed up his friend's van. 

"Yeah! Don't worry Yuuri-kun I can memorize on the road." Phichit was a musical actor and he was currently memorizing his script for Jersey Boys. It wasn't anything too challenging but it was Phichit's first time in a major traveling musical. It would be a pretty big deal if he messed up now. 

"I highly doubt that."

Smirking, Phichit packed the last of the duffel bags and hurried to the driver's side. "Guess we'll have to wait and see, huh?"

The road trip went fairly well-in the beginning. Yuuri and Phichit settled into a comfortable routine where for every sign they passed, Yuuri would feed Phichit the cue lines for a random scene. For the most part, Phichit passed the test with flying colors. Then the actor became hungry meaning Yuuri had to delve into the back for the snack bag they had packed earlier. After trying to use a bag of pretzels and Goldfish as motivation, Phichit got cranky and started swerving on the two lane road. "Phichit! Look where you're going!" Yuuri's fear overcame his stubbornness so he gave Phichit the Goldfish and gave up, picking out a bag of quinoa chips for himself. The memorization went forgotten and the two ended up blasting Viktor's albums for the next two hours. 

Phichit adjusted the camera on the dashboard. The Nikon point and shoot looked unsteady on the tripod but Phichit quickly reassured his best friend about his vlogging skills. "My followers wanted me to film another car video with you, might as well start now!"

Yuuri flushed with embarrassment as Phichit hit the record button. He'd been on camera for his best friend's sake enough to not stutter incoherent sentences, but it didn't mean that Yuuri's anxiety couldn't still get the best of him. 

"Hello my little hamsters! You all asked for it so I'm here with my best friend Yuuri!" Only Phichit's followers (and Yuuri's dedicated ones of course) knew of Katsu's real alias. Yuuri was grateful that  it stayed within those circles. 

Yuuri gave a small wave to the camera as Phichit began rambling about the spontaneous road trip to see Viktor Nikiforov live. "He is Yuuri-kun's  _favorite_  artist, I'm telling you this boy is dedicated!"

"Phichit!"

His best friend was giggling like crazy and Yuuri felt absolutely betrayed. Why would his best friend tell his fans such delicate information?

"Sorry Yuuri I'm just jo-"

"It might not be news for how obvious he is, but did you know that Phichit-kun has a crush?" Phichit stopped laughing and jerked his head towards Yuuri. The other boy was smirking with a content look on his face. 

"Yuuri....you wouldn't."

"Mmhm well we are sharing secrets right?" Phichit was baffled with Yuuri's confidence and almost burst out laughing again.

"Wow Yuuri-kun," he whistled,"I didn't think you'd be so feisty today."

"You started it."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll edit them both out okay?"

Yuuri turned back from the window and nodded. "That would probably be best."

The rest of the trip passed with snacks being eaten and jokes being made. The secrets weren't brought up but Yuuri knew Phichit would be coming to him when he wanted to ramble about  _him_. 

 

 

´¨)  
¸.·´¸.·*´¨)*´¨)  
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) *  
(¸.·\the stars above us*´¨)  
¸.·´ ¸.·*´¨) *

 

 

The HI Chicago Hostel they were staying at was situated only a few blocks away from the festival. Yuuri was surprised that Phichit was able to book such a close place despite it having been a mere few weeks before the event. Festivals like Lollapalooza sold out fast and tickets didn't come by cheap. It took a few trips to the van to get everything into their room- Phichit had packed  _way_ too many outfits for a single weekend. Yuuri had pestered him about lightening up the load, bringing only what was necessary, but Phichit still refused to do so. Now they suffered the consequences as both boys went to unpacking the countless pieces of clothes and hanging them or folding them. 

An hour later Yuuri's phone read 2:39 and Phichit had just got in the shower. Drying his own hair with the pristine white towel, Yuuri set to finding something to wear. No doubt his best friend would be badgering him to go out in this new city. Despite his anxiety of new places, Yuuri had to agree that traveling did excite him a bit. A new city with new people and new places was like a breath of fresh air to his daily routine. He just hoped it wouldn't be too crowded. 

"Yuuri-kun! You ready?" Phichit stepped out of the bathroom merely ten minutes later with steam billowing out behind him. He was already dressed in nice jeans and an expensive looking silk bomber jacket over a simple t-shirt. 

"I think so." 

Phichit tsked at the appearance of his friend. "You really need to just hire me as your stylist already." Yuuri rolled his eyes and settled on showing Phichit his choices for the night laid out on the double bed. 

"Mmm not bad," he said tapping a finger on his chin, "but I think you need something a little more-"

"Let me guess, edgier?"

"Well I was going to say sexier but-"

"Phichit, I swear to god-"

"Ssh chill bro just let me do the outfit picking tonight, alright?" Yuuri nodded and slumped into the desk chair across the room. 

"Just don't pick anything stupid."

Phichit feigned a look of shock. "Stupid? Yuuri-kun I would never." 

The outfit he picked out, Yuuri decided, was indeed stupid. The look was elegant in a totally ridiculous way. While the black skinny jeans were fairly simple, Phichit had chosen a shimmery navy blue satin top along with a black denim jacket bedazzled on the back with a tiger. 

"Phichit-"

"Please please please Yuuri try it on! Trust me...", his voice faded off as he used his irresistible puppy dog eyes. 

"I swear Phichit, I'm going to get you back hard some day." 

He giggled and pointed to the clothes again. "Yeah yeah but for now wear those clothes and own it Katsudon!" Yuuri couldn't help but smile even if he had to wear a ridiculously sparkly outfit that night. 

The two had a blast. Seeing as it was 'only 3' (marking Phichit's words), they ended up visiting a good lot of tourist attractions. They stopped at the Shedd Aquarium where Yuuri became so enamored with the penguins that Phichit had to physically drag him away. When they reached the Field Museum,  Phichit almost crushed a little boy while they tried to fly the modular airplane. Yuuri got distracted when they passed a Maltipoo at the park and Phichit had to convince his best friend to not scare off the owner by taking too many pictures. They stopped to watch a ballet at the Auditorium Theater of the Roosevelt University but after Yuuri fell asleep a dozen too many times, Phichit quickly got them out. Finally they stopped at the Willis Tower and admired the view of 110 story skyscraper. Phichit quickly grew too dizzy to stand on his own two feet. 

"You hungry?" Yuuri nodded and followed a staggering Phichit to the elevator. Before he got in, however, Yuuri spot a head of platinum hair. He turned around to follow the person but gave up when he had no luck relocating them. He mentally scolded himself for being too hopeful and turned around to follow Phichit into the elevator. 

After much indecisiveness, the two ended up at Giordano's. The restaurant was cozy and not too packed which made Yuuri sigh in relief. He hadn't been too careful about disguising himself but there hadn't been anyone to recognize him- yet. Maybe it was the atmosphere of a new city or the fact that there were dozens of other -bigger artists in the area but Yuuri felt surprisingly comfortable as he sat down in the booth across from Phichit. The waiter came by and after they ordered lemonades, Yuuri pulled out the menu.

"Ahh Yuuri-kun! Look at everything they have! I have no idea what to get." He frowned as he scanned the menu over. 

"I thought you'd want the cheesy garlic bread. It  _looks_ good."

"But Yuuri, what about the tomato bruschetta? And the potato fritters oh! The calamari looks so good!" Phichit was drooling at the mouth and Yuuri couldn't help but laugh. He honestly thought  _he_  was bad around food but his best friend was a whole other story.

"Just get the sampler. Then you can get everything."

"Yuuri Katsudon you are a genius."

"Ugh, don't call me that Phichit." Yuuri rolled his eyes as Phichit continued to giggle. With the appetizers ordered, Phichit focused on editing the pictures from the day while Yuuri settled on looking through his emails. While most remained strictly business offers and inquires, there were also many spam subscription emails from online stores Phichit tended to shop at.

_I really need to change the password to my account._

Looking through the inbox marked with blue dots Yuuri sorted through the important ones and deleted the spam.

It was a little deep in his tray but it was so undistinguished that he almost missed it. 

 

**From: amarirodriguez@lollapalooza.com**

**To: katsu-done@gmail.com**

_Subject: Opening Act Opportunity_

_Today at 8:23 AM_

Hello Katsu,

Our team at  Lollapalooza has run into a situation as our original opening act for major artist, Viktor Nikiforov has canceled their event right before the festival. A time slot has opened up to play a short setlist before the artist and we were wondering if you were interested in playing at the festival. 

I heard from an acquaintance that you would be attending Lollapalooza and was curious as to whether you might consider the opportunity. I understand if you find this too troubling for your schedule, we hope that you can at least consider the possibility of performing at out event.

All of my apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. I hope to hear back from you shortly. 

Sincerely,

Amari Rodriguez

 

Yuuri found himself gaping as he showed Phichit the email. "It's-it's real right...?" Phichit's reaction was enough of an answer to the shocked singer's question. 

"You  **are** doing this Yuuri, or should I say.. Katsu?"

"Phichit you know I can't perform for shit!"

"Ssssh," placing a hand over his best friend's, Phichit muttered calming words to rule out the oncoming anxiety attack Yuuri would be sure to have. 

"We can talk about this later, let's just order some stuffed deep dish first, okay?" Taking calming breaths, Yuuri looked up to Phichit with a small smile on his face. 

"As long as there is extra cheese."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ciao ciao,, I'm officially obsessed with writing this au I don't even know why? I almost forgot but I made twitters for Yuuri and Phichit to share some behind the scenes tweets & pics :0 follow @thekatsudone and @therealphichit to get in on the fun lmao
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos! See you next time :)


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